A Message from our President

After 18 long months of pandemic, the Vox Choirs board and the two individual choir boards have taken the decision to restart rehearsals, in as safe a manner as possible, and in line with government guidelines.

For Florivox, that means restarting rehearsals with our long standing conductor, Josh Tamayo, and we look forward to rediscovering our voices with him over the next few months. 

In September 2019, Dallas Bergen, our founder and conductor of Univox announced that the 2020/21 season would be his last.  We all know that his final season, hit by a pandemic, has not been what we all hoped, but we continue to wish Dallas all the best with his future endeavors.

It is with great pleasure that we announce our new conductor for Univox.  Malcolm Cody MacFarlane (known as Cody) is a Toronto-based music director, educator, and performer. Originally from North Bay, Ontario, Cody began his lifelong love for music playing the flute and singing in a classic rock cover band at the age of 14. He completed his Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Education degrees at the University of Ottawa, studying the flute under Camille Churchfield and receiving mentorship in choral music and voice from Laurence Ewashko.

Cody currently works as a music educator at The York School, where he directs choirs, instrumental ensembles, and is music director for the school’s musical theatre productions. Previously, he taught at Ashbury College, where he was artistic director of a performance programme for the school’s boarding population and provided musical direction for the school’s musical theatre programme. Cody has also appeared as a conductor in the Conference of Independent Schools Music Festival at Roy Thomson Hall.

Cody has extensive experience as a chorister, performing a wide range of music from opera to ambient experimental pop with groups such as Ewashko Singers, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Opera Lyra Ottawa, the Canadian Opera Company, and Jónsi & Alex.

Cody had been a member of Univox for the last few years, and it has been a delight to select our new conductor from within the Univox community.  The Univox board is looking forward to starting this new chapter of singing with Cody, and welcome him wholeheartedly into his new role.

Matthew Pollishuke

Vox Choirs President